One of the principal reasons that Malta managed to stay in control of the local COVID-19 epidemic in spring was that the nation as a whole, with very few exceptions, pulled the same rope towards a common goal: the return to as normal a life as possible in a safe and structured manner.
The controversial decisions taken by the government over the past few weeks, which included the complete abandonment of social restrictions at the same time as the airport and ports were opened wide to the outside world, have contributed to a huge rise in numbers of those carrying the virus.
In contrast to what happened in the first wave, however, the resurgence is accompanied by a very worrying phenomenon: the politicisation of the problem.
Media outlets owned by the Labour Party and those which openly support it are spinning facts and manipulating information in a desperate attempt to hide just how serious the situation is.
A case in point: Kulħadd, the Sunday newspaper published by the Labour Party, only last week quoted numbers showing that since the beginning of the epidemic, Malta has one of the lowest rates of infection in Europe.
That is only a half-truth. The newspaper did not mention the other half of that truth, more important in the present circumstances than the first: that the rate of infection in the previous two weeks was among the highest per capita in Europe.
The latter is the yardstick on which other governments are basing their decisions to shut Malta down for travellers from their countries.
Shamefully, last Sunday the prime minister, in full defensive mode, repeated the same spin when he stated during an interview on ONE that Malta has one of the lowest total numbers of infections in Europe.
The island also has the lowest population in the EU, 150 times lower than Great Britain or France. It is obvious that our global coronavirus numbers will be lower too. The rate per capita of population does not make such good reading.
As the BBC succinctly put it when reporting about our decision to open up to mass events, it seems that the government-supporting media are living in a parallel universe.
Here in Malta, we are used to it. Viewers are daily under the barrage of rampant propaganda spewed out by the media arms of the two main political parties. The neutrals have learnt to shrug it off and even manage the occasional laugh at such opposing versions of reality.
This time it is different. This time, our health is on the line.
We can only get COVID-19 back under control if the whole nation cooperates. For that to happen, there has to be a unified understanding of the seriousness of the situation and of the actions that need to be taken by every citizen to suppress the spread of the virus.
Trying to protect the political reputation of a bungling prime minister will have the opposite effect.
It will undermine the messages coming from the health authorities and the vital social distancing measures being implemented.
All media outlets, no matter their political leaning, but perhaps especially those that have a known base of extremely loyal followers, have a social and civic duty to be honest and forthright about the COVID-19 situation, by disseminating full, accurate and unbiased information.
Otherwise, they will be complicit in the economic and social disaster that is developing before our eyes. They will be accessories to the needless suffering that may result.
They need to get this straight: lives are more important than Robert Abela’s reputation.